Many blogs, including this one, have been scratching their heads as to the origin of the F. Martinella Deli that is moving into a big space on Court Street in downtown Brooklyn. The signs in the window say the company was founded in 1949, but none of the borough's history buffs have heard of it.
Well, a sharp reader wrote in yesterday suggested a possible key to the mystery. Before the Martinella signs made an appearance, there was much scuttlebutt that the space would hold a Boar's Head deli. The reader points out, succinctly enough:
CEO: Robert S. Martin
President: Michael Martella
Martin + Martella = Martinella
To this bit of sleuthing I add this detail as to the initial "F." in "F. Martinella": Boar's Head was founded in 1903 by Frank Brunckhorst. As in F. Brunckhorst.
And that's about as clever as a corporation can get.